Reply #46: You Know My Views On The Matter, Ma'am

[The Magistrate]

As there is really no sign as yet that the Israeli government does not still prefer Mr. Abbas to win over other candidates, it is a bit early to be off to the races over whether Sharon will characterize him as an obstacle to peace, or to predict there will be no negotiations with him.

The phrase "whatever leadership emerges" is rather a loaded one: the people of Arab palestine have the right to elect whatever damned fool they please to lead them; other nation's governments and peoples have the right to distrust, dislike, fear, and even despise that leader, and there are certainly possible leaderships that they would be well advised to regard in all those ways, and certainly could not be expected to regard in any other manner.

That this statement is rooted in electioneering is doubtless true; it is also possible for a politician to go too far in the pandering his profession requires. The Al Aksa Brigades have in fact carried out a number of attacks against civilians in Israel; they are sort of Fatah's effort to compete with Hamas for market share....